Illegal aliens will be able to receive checks under the Pelosi-Reid-Obama Debt Act of 2009, a Republican congressional official told the Associated Press Thursday.

The legislation, which would send tax credits of $500 per worker and $1,000 per couple, expressly disqualifies nonresident aliens, but it would allow people who don’t have Social Security numbers to be eligible for the checks.

Undocumented immigrants who are not eligible for a Social Security number can file tax returns with an alternative number. A House-passed version of the economic recovery bill and one making its way through the Senate would allow anyone with such a number, called an individual taxpayer identification number, to qualify for the tax credits.

Translation: Illegal aliens, without Social Security numbers, will be able to file for the tax credit of $500 per person and $1,000 per couple. In case you’re wondering, no, this isn’t the first time Democrats have tried to send checks to people in the country illegally.

A revolt among GOP conservatives to similar provisions of a 2008 economic stimulus bill, which sent rebate checks to most wage earners, forced Democratic congressional leaders to add stricter eligibility requirements. That legislation, enacted in February 2008, required that people have valid Social Security numbers in order to get checks.

Hopefully Senate Republicans, in addition to Blue Dog Democrats, will bring this to the attention of their colleagues. Using legislation intended to jump-start the economy to aid illegal aliens simply isn’t acceptable.